The Devouring Sins
by TheExiledIdeal
Summary: Growing up is difficult. Steven knew that even if he wasn't a member of the Crystal Gems, it would still be the same as now. When you become an adult sometimes you learn about things you wish you haven't and have to accept them as a fact. He will learn such things from one unexpected person that will ultimately make him realize that monsters do exist in this world.
1. Introduction: Old Wounds

**Hi there! This is my first fanfic ever on this website, which makes somewhat nervous, but also very excited! I'm writing this story about Steven Universe, because I've recently discovered the series and liked it, although the show has its flaws. So I had a bunch of speculation on what could be done to improve its setting and then began to brainstorm some ideas and before I know it I was writing a story! Crazy, right?**

 **Anyway since this is my very first fanfic, I would appreciate criticism and some suggestions to take into consideration when it comes to character development or world-building. Another thing is that I may make some mistakes about the locations or the timeline in SU, so if there's anything incorrect please let me know.**

 **One last thing - there may be a few changes regarding the timeline of this and the official one. For example, the beginning is set shortly after Peridot loses her limb enhancers, but episodes like Rocknaldo (worst episode btw) never happened here. So there might be a few changes here and there, but I won't make it too complicated.**

 **Hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

 **The Devouring Sins**

 **Introduction: Old Wounds**

* * *

The figure stood near the window from which the whole Earth can be seen. She stared through the window,looking directly at the planet. While looking at it, she could feel how her body trembled with excitement. Excitment... that's what humans called it, right? The figure chuckled. Humans were the native species of the planet Earth, which Homeworld intented to colonise 5000 years ago. Of course, there were many others unique species, but to the figure the humans stood out from the others. There was something about them that was fascinating, so fascinating that it managed to peak an interest in not so few gems, especially those with hign positions. Still, that didn't mean anything. After all, they were organic and with Homeworld's main policy of eradicating anything that was organic, it was inevitable that they would soon perish. That was just how things were supposed to be - discover a new planet, station some Technics there and then BOOM - a newly acquired colony. Then rinse and repeat.

That was what she thought back then. But now things are different. She was standing right in front of the planet that was supposed to be dried out of it's natural resources. Who would have thought how things would change so suddenly and unexpectadly. But was it? She knew that things weren't like what they seem. Thats what they have told her and even though she wasn't sure of what exactly is real and what not, deep down she knew how things stood. She didn't mind, though. Unlike her fellow gems, she was actually capable of having her own thoughts. At the same time, however, she lost her status in Homeworld. That was the ultimate price to pay, the possibility to change her destiny and to have her own will. A price that was worth it.

She was glad that she gave up everything. The way of the flesh was far more pleasent than anything else back home. Thanks to it, she managed to break free of the monotone and dull life on Homeworld. Back then, she was like a robot - don't think, just do it. This isn't part of the protocle, so don't do anything unless said so. Now she felt more alive, more happier than ever before. It was all thanks to the flesh that all of this was possible.

The figure moved away from the window and procceded to the upper floor, where she would find the main control panel. While walking, she bypassed the murals that were painted on the wall. She didn't bother to look at them, because there was no need to - their meanings were lost to her a long time ago. The figure climbed up the stairs, eventually standing in a large room that was covered in glass. There wasn't anything in it, besides a huge staircase in the centre. One quick look and the "visitor", as she liked to call herself, spotted the control panel. She climbed up the stairs and finally reached her main goal. The visitor sat down the small stone chair and touched the hand-shaped figure on her right. Soon a screen appeared before her, with seven diamond-like icons. The visitor began to look through them, quickly swiping through each icon until she eventually stopped at the sixth icon. She saw a holographic image of the planet and was puzzled at first at the sight. After some thought, the visitor tapped a few buttons. The result was evident, as a small point appeared on the planet. Then it zoomed in and showed another point, but this time it was beneath the smaller one and bigger as well. The visitor was stunned. This was it? The so called Cluster? She couldn't believe it, but after reading the files once more, it was more than certain - this was it.

The Cluster.

A wild range of emotions passed the visitor's mind. Anger, sadness, fear, guilt. But that didn't last long. She stood up from the chair and placed her hands near her gem. A glowing light came from it and she placed one of her hands in it. She then pulled it off while holding a stranger device in her palm. She inserted it into the panel and waited. After a few minutes, she grabbed it and put it back in her gem. The visitor turned back on, but suddenly stopped. She then rose her hand up and it began to change its shape. It went further up, constantly changing its red, gooey shape, with tendrils emerging from the top where the fingers were. The visitor suddenly moved, causing the large arm to land on the control panel.

The blow was devastating - pieces from the panel flew everywhere and a huge hole appeared on the floor. The visitor's hand started to shrink and returning back to its original form. After it went back, the visitor turned back and left the room, quietly mumbling to herself.

"How dare they..." was all that could be heard from her voice.

* * *

 **Wew, that was the introduction. Next in line come the Crystal Gems and how they handle the situation in Earth! Stay tuned!**


	2. Chapter 1: Monster Hunter

**Hey guys! This is officially the first chapter of The Devouring Sins. I put quite a lot of time in this chapter, which is kinda suprising. I mean, I thought it was gonna be a small chapter, but then I decided to make things a little bit interesting. When I finished I didn't believe that it was that long, but I guess that's what happens when you get yourself carried away.**

 **I promise that the next ones won't take as much time as this one.**

 ** **Hope you enjoy reading it!****

* * *

 **Chapter One: Monster Hunter**

* * *

Beach City-a small town located on the the eastern part of the USA,not so far from Empire City. It is a seemingly normal tourist town with its incredible beaches and warm weather. Because of this the townsfolk are having businesses that revolve around attracting more tourists in hopes to provide their services or sell their products. Even though it isn't as popular as Miami or Los Angeles it still attracted enough tourists to keep the town in a financial stability. It is also a place to settle down for people from the much bigger cities, who either got sick of their daily lives back home or just wanted a nice, peaceful life without any stress. Truly, Beach City lives up to its reputation of a queit town.

Well, almost.

"Heads up!" cried Amethyst while she used her whip to pull off a rock and throwing it at a giant gem monster. The creature hissed and swiped its massive tail, smashing the rock before it could even hit it.

"Ohhh man..." said Amethyst, cautiously backing away. The gem monster was slowly approaching her, ready to strike her prey. Amethyst was desperatly looking around for something to throw at it, but she didn't find anything. Then the monster roared and started to run towards her. The purple gem yelped, turning around and morphing into a ball, spinning as far away as possible.

"Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man!" was all she could think of to herself while still being chased. "This was such a bad idea! Going heads on, what was I thinking?! I should have listened to Pearl!"

The chase between her and the corrupted gem continued for about ten minutes, at one point Amethyst was even almost caught by the creature's claws. Suddenly a spear appeared out of nowhere and struck down the monster in its left shoulder. The monster roared in pain and stopped in its tracks, falling to the ground. Amethyst, after a couple of meters, also stopped. She was in a complete shock and before she could say anything, a slim figure appeared in the sky, briefly blocking the sunlight from Amethyst's eyes. The mysterious figure then landed right before her. When it rose up, she looked at Amethyst with a disapproval look on her face.

"Amethyst," said Pearl "you shouldn't have gone against this... thing all on your own! Honestly, what were you thinking you back there?" Pearl rubbed her eyes, already feeling exhausted from this mission.

"Wow, wow, wow," said Amethyst while getting back on her feet. "What's with all of this talk like I emerged from the Kindergarten just yesterday?! Just to let you know I was keeping things under control until YOU showed up!"

"Oh, but of course you were Amethyst," replied Pearl sarcastically. "Surely being chased by our main objective was part of YOUR plan to keep things under control, right?"

The short gem got angry at this reply. She hated it when Pearl was acting all smug and all knowing, thinking her way of approach is always the best one. Not only that, but she could also fell that there was a bit of a mockery in there as well. She pointed her finger at the much taller gem.

"Now listen here you lousy..."

Just as she was about to say her own fair share of insults another figure appeared in the sky, also blocking the sunlight for a brief moment. The figure then landed near the two bickering gems with what appeared to be a little boy in her left arm. He was smiling towards Amethyst and Pearl, although with a nervous expression. The figure put him down on the ground.

"Now is not the time for fighting," said Garnet. "We are on a mission, after all."

"But Garnet..." replied both Amethyst and Pearl before getting cut by Garnet.

"No buts." said Garnet with a strict voice. The two gems lowered their heads, not uttering a single word.

"Uhh, guys?" Steven suddenly spoke. "I don't think that she's really happy to see all of us here."

All three gems looked confused at first until they turned towards where Steven was looking. What they saw was none other than the green gem monster that was panting heavily with Pearl's spear stuck in its left shoulder, green substance pouring out of it like an erupting volcano. At first glance one could confuse the beast as a crocodile - it walked on all four, with a long mouth and large tail at the end, covered in thick, green scales. However, this where the similarities end. The back of the beast had several spikes, ending at the tail where they were unusually dark green in color and having long claws that could tear to shreds almost anything. The beast also had three eyes also spotting a huge horn in the middle of its head. The monster was glaring at The Crystal Gems with burning hatred, all of its six eyes fixated on each member. Its mouth was drooling, revealing several razor sharp teeth, designed with the sole purpose to kill.

"Ughh," said Amethyst. "I don't like the look on its face."

"Me neither." said Pearl while summoning another spear. "And I also think it wants to return the favour from earlier."

"Alright Crystal Gems! It's time to finish this once and for all." said Garnet firmly, clenching her fists, light coming out from them until they transformed into gauntlets. The others nodded. At this moment the large monster screamed and started running towards Garnet. She lunged herself towards the crocodile-like gem monster, the two clashing together with such intensity that they knocked the others several meters away. Garnet was holding the monstrosity with her gauntlets, trying to lift it off. The the monster's streght was greater than Garnet anticipated it to be and she soon realized this when she got knocked over by it. The crocodile pinched her on the ground, opening its mouth with numerous teeth in it, ready to snatch its prey. Just as it was about to deliver its fatal blow, however, a pink frisbee like object got stuck in its mouth, fouling her attempt to bite Garnet.

"Good job Steven!" screamed Garnet, looking back at him, who stuck out his tongue and gave her a thumbs up. Garnet quickly got back on her feet by punching the monster's stomach, sending it flying in the air. It landed a not so far away, still having Steven's shield stuck in its mouth. Garnet jumped in the air, holding her hands together until she stopped and lunged herself at the gem monster. Before it could realize what was happening, Garnet landed with her gauntlets on its mouth, effectively closing it, thus piercing it with the shield. The corrupted gem roared in pain as Steven's shield disappeared, leaving a giant wound where it was. Garnet attempted to land another hit on it, but was cut short when the she got hit by the creature's tail, its spikes cracking her gauntlets. The leader of the Crystal Gems tried to get up when was again hit by the tail, this time slamming her on the ground. The monster was landing blow after blow with Garnet desperately blocking each one until several light beams hit the crocodile gem in its back. It hissed in frustration and turned around to see Pearl pointing her spear in his direction. The crocodile turned its attention towards Pearl now, leaving Garnet behind. Pearl then fired several light beams from her spear, striking her target a couple of times. The monster hissed again and was now running against Pearl. As it went further away Steven came to where Garnet was to help her. As he was helping her, the youngest member looked at where Pearl was and to his horror he saw the pale gem staying on one place with a calm expression, not doing anything at all while the gem monster was charging at her with full speed.

"Pearl!" cried Steven. "What are you doing?! You'll get hurt!"

Pearl didn't answer, still standing in front of the massive monster that was approaching her. After a couple of seconds she suddenly leaped off in the air. The crocodile looked up where she was and it too tried to jump off only to met by Amethyst's spin dash attack. It was sent the flying right in the direction of Steven. He yelped and was about to summon his defensive bubble. Before he could do that though, Garnet grabbed him and both of them moved away from the beast. It landed a little bit from where they were, heavily panting, from its wound leaking even more green substance. It was clearly getting tired as it barely got up on its legs.

Garnet let hold of Steven. Pearl and Amethyst came to them, looking cautiously at the corrupted gem monster, which was now whimpering in pain. She rose up, towering over everyone.

"This is it." she said. "Amethyst, I want you to use your whip to demobilize it. Pearl, you and I will combine our forces to put it down. Steven, you stay back. Understood?"

Everyone nodded again. Amethyst summoned her whip and then entangled the wounded monster with it, effectively binding it to the ground, unable to run or move even the slightest. Pearl moved closer to Garnet with her spear in hand, while Garnet stretched both of her hands. Steven went behind them while the two were preparing their attack. Garnet shifted her gauntlets to be bigger, while Pearl was charging her spear. Steven was looking at them stunned and Amethyst was still holding down the gem monster.

"Now, Pearl!" shouted Garnet at the top of her lungs. What followed was both Garnet's gauntlets and Pearl's light beam were fired directly at the crocodile gem. Their combined force was so powerful that it created a glowing light-pink aura around them. Amethyst let off her whip just when it made contact with its target. Soon a huge explosion followed, sending dirt and rocks everywhere. The Crystal Gems moved away a bit, Garnet regenerating her lost arms and the others looking at the trail of smokes with a weird combination of black and green which the explosion left behind.

After a couple of minutes the smokes eventually disappeared and what was once a threat to nearby humans and Crystal Gems was now a small, round-shaped, green gem.

* * *

 **Finally, after several days of rewriting, I have finally published this chapter! I have probably rewritten this one three times and to be frank with you, it was getting on my nerves.**

 **Anyhow, this chapter we are introduced to Steven and the Crystal Gems and their encounter with a loose, corrupted gem. A pretty close call, but why would our heroes struggle against it? You might ask yourselves, don't Garnet, Amethyst or Pearl have any experience with this sort of stuff? Find out next time when things will get a little heated.**


End file.
